Stabilizing a firearm such as a rifle over a surface such as the ground is desirable to improve reduce movement of the firearm and improve accuracy of the shots. Current automatic firearm rifles have an existing rear pistol type grip that is difficult to lay on top of the ground surface since it causes the gun to be held to an uncomfortable and undesirable position close to the ground.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,124,528 to Long describes a “Firearm Pistol Grip Monopod Gun Stabilizer”, title, that uses an adjustable pistol grip monopod, that can be used with a rifle. However, this device is limited to a threaded rod which must be manually rotated and to slowly become extended beneath the pistol grip. This slow and tedious operation is not suitable for combat or hunting applications were split second timing is necessary to make shots. In addition this device requires the user manually reverse the rotation in order to slowly retract the threaded rod back into the grip, which would also be time consuming an tedious to the user.
Still furthermore, the Long '528 device does not allow for consistent height adjustments since the threaded rod must be separately rotated and adjusted each time it is used. Thus, the user does not have consistent uniform height adjustments when the device is reused overtime. Without the consistent height adjustment levels, the user cannot accurately be trained overtime since each height adjustment use when less than the fully extended position results in a different height level.
Additionally, the solid threaded metal rod adds unnecessary weight, and having a small diameter is not strong. Users in the field do not find it desirable to add more weight to their equipment that must be hand carried from place to place. The narrow diameter of the rod may allow it to bend, and also does not allow for a stable platform on which to sit the rife type firearm. Still furthermore, the foot pad used with this device has both a small foot print that does not provide a stable support, and also has a flat surface which can slide on a like smooth surface, which would also effect the shot accuracy over time.
Other devices have also been attempted to be used with the rear grips on rifles, but also have similar problems to the Long '528 device. See for example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,884,905 to Musser et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,683,535 to Lewis; U.S. Pat. No. 6,305,116 to Parker; U.S. Pat. No. 6,536,152 to Wisz, and U.S. Patent Application Publication 2002/0040544 to Muhlestein.
Thus, the need exists for solutions to the problems with the prior art.